"I'm shooting to get back in two to four weeks. But I do need to be smart and pace myself a little. I have to be cautious. That's one of the reasons for the rest."

The recent trip to the West Coast was the reason for Davis' high spirits. At the Kerlan-Jobe Orthopedic Clinic in Los Angles, Dr. Robert Watkins said after a neurological examination that he was satisfied with Davis' progress. "I haven't had the opportunity to do much since we got home," he said. "But I had been working pretty hard on the trip -- every day since we left. That was encouraging. Before the All-Star break, I was barely doing anything at all."

Manager John Oates said: "We're optimistic he'll be back. The way he was swinging the bat in California and Kansas City was very good news."

Davis said he believes his recovery will be sufficient to let him to play this season, though doctors are concerned about other areas of the shoulder, particularly the rotator cuff.

"California confirmed that I was making progress," he said. "I felt I had gotten over the hump, but I hadn't had the tests done.

"The neurologist told me I'm not going to have any problems. That was the happiest day of the whole thing. Now, the next happiest day will be when I play."

But there is more waiting. The mid-trapezius and lower trapezius still require more healing, and some fiber atrophy still is present.

"It's down to the patience end of it," said Davis. "For the people in the organization, that's what it's going to take. For me, that's what it's going to take.

"But one of my happiest moments is past -- the one where I could stop dealing with the question of never being able to play again."